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SEMPOERNAKAN HARIMU

Wednesday, December 24, 2014

A post i like in this early search of hajj meaning

I kinda like this post, thus permission to be displayed on my blog yeah. There is no retweet or like function on blogs, so copy paste with acknowledgement. I am sure it is meant to be shared. A start for me in my journey so that i can reflect to this post, when i am in doubt.

Since Hajj is the accumulation of all other pillars of Islam, the attacks from Shaytaan and trials from Allah are sure to occur in order to separate the believers from the hypocrites. There will be many inconveniences and annoyances during the journey but if the believer is focused on the purpose, all these will not be of any importance.

Once you intend to go on Hajj worry about yourdealings with Allah and your service to Him SWT, not about the service of the travel agent or the problems you might face during the journey. Know that the difficulties will be there regardless of how much you try to avoid them, as it is through hardships that Allah SWT checks the status of our faith and our sincerity to Him.

If you remember the gifts and services that Allah SWT has offered you throughout your life, you will be able to remain focused on what kind of service you are offering Him SWT and what attitude you are showing Him.

;First purpose of Hajj is to capture our desire and nafs in order to fully enslave ourselves to Allah SWT. Our temptations and desires should never exceed a limit where they become the driving force of our actions. Unless we capture our ego, arrogance, and temptations, and surrender them to the will of Allah SWT, we will never be able to attain salvation and true success on the Day of Judgment.

To remember the Day of Judgment and affairs of the afterlife as we have been discussing.

Third purpose of Hajj is to remember the mercy of Allah SWT and to acknowledge how many chances of repentance and purification He SWT has bestowed upon us. It is one of our duties to inculcate this quality of mercy of in our own personalities and to deal with others accordingly.

Hajj is supposed to bring out this trait in a believer as he gets a chance to view the state of many Muslims who are inferior to him in health, wealth and ability. Prophet SAW was sent as a mercy to mankind and he said:

“Allah shows mercy to those who show mercy. Show mercy to those on earth, and Allah will be merciful to you.” (Abu Dawood & Tirmidhi)

To gain the level of absolute purity toward Allah SWT.The restrictions such as prohibition of sexual intercourse, of contracting marriage, of being a witness in marriage, or even intending marriage while in the state of Ihraam are to be observed or they can break the state of Ihraam and nullify Hajj.

These are all halal acts but at this time they become prohibited because they are dealing with the affairs of this world and Allah wants us to leave off worldly matters entirely and be purely for Him SWT. This is the true essence of the call of pilgrimage:

‘Here I am O Allah, (in response to Your call), here I am. Here I am, You have no partner, here I am. Verily all praise, grace and sovereignty belong to You.You have no partner.’

This call of labbaik or saying ‘Here I am’ is to be done with humbleness, humility, service and devotion to Allah SWT enveloped by absolute love for Him.

Humble ourselves to Allah and His creation by not causing any oppression. Any oppression even toward animals, let alone other Muslims, can nullify Hajj. This heightened state of consciousness during Hajj is to remind us of the etiquettes that we have forgotten, and to revert back to these lost teachings of Islam.

To try to build the habit of obedience to Allah SWT during this journey. Once this habit of doing everything according to the will and teachings of Allah and His Prophet is established, maybe when the person returns, he/she will continue to obey Allah in their daily lives.

To remove the love of duniya and material possessions from our hearts. We are so occupied with our work, business, family, friends, education etc. in this life that the affairs of the hereafter go in the background. The purpose of Hajj is to remove all of these ties from our hearts and reset our priorities according to Allah and His Prophet SAW.

While going on Hajj, we leave everything behind us just like we will when we die. While we are on Hajj the world continues to function without us, which is a reminder for us to refocus our energies to where they really matter. This is why one of the manners when you leave your house with the intention of Hajj is to forget about all your obligations except what you owe to your Creator and Owner Allah SWT.

The journey of Hajj is symbolic of our life’s journey to the hereafter. No place on earth is our permanent residence. We are all here to spend a designated amount of time according to the will of Allah and will leave sooner or later, and then spend some time in transit until the Day of Judgment is established. That is when our final residence will be determined: the best of residence being jannah and the worst being hell fire.

To remind us of the brotherhood and equality in Islam. Irrespective of race, ethnic affiliation, skin color, material wealth, educational level—we are all same in the eyes of Allah SWT. We follow the same rituals and customs and are encouraged to be generous and kind to each other. We are supposed to take care of the needy Muslims during this time as it is not only worship but our responsibility.

Abdullah Ibn Mubarak was a wealthy taba'ee (follower of the companions) who was known for his generosity. Every year at the time of Hajj, he used to equip a large caravan for Hajj and distribute all his money in the way of Allah to the point that after Hajj he had nothing left.

AWhy would he do that? To get the ultimate benefit from this journey and to devote all he had for the sake of Allah SWT.

Once Abdullah Ibn Mubarak Headed Out With His Caravan To Hajj And On The Way He Saw A Woman Collecting A Dead Bird From The Side Of The Road. His Curiosity Was Intrigued So He Followed The Woman And Inquired About Her Actions. She Said That She Was Going To Cook It To Feed Her Hungry Children. He Was Shocked And Asked Her If She Didn’t Know Of The Prohibition Of Eating Dead Animals? She In Turn Asked Him If He Was Not Aware Of The Permissibility Of It For Those Who Are At The Brink Of Starvation.

He was so moved by her ordeal that he gave all his Hajj money to this lady, went back to home and locked himself indoors. He forbade his family to inquire the reason of his return or to tell anyone that he had come back, as he wanted to keep his deed purely for Allah. He stayed indoors until the Hajj season passed entirely and caravans started to return from Makkah.

He began to go outdoors and started meeting the returning pilgrims who would thank him for his assistance that he provided them in Makkah, Medina, or other places that they had visited. He was shocked; he returned to his room and started crying to Allah SWT asking Him to explain what was going on. Abdullah Ibn Mubarak saw RasulAllah SAW in his dream who gave him the good news that Allah was so pleased with his action towards this woman that He created an angel in the form and look of Abdullah to do the Hajj on his behalf along with the good deeds that Abdullah regularly used to do. He SAW went on to inform Abdullah that Allah had rewarded him for ten Hajj and had accepted the Hajj of all others because of him. All because Abdullah had helped a needy woman!

RasulAllah SAW said:

"Whosoever relieves from a believer some grief pertaining to this world, Allah will relieve from him some grief pertaining to the Hereafter. Whosoever alleviates the difficulties of a needy person who cannot pay his debt, Allah will alleviate his difficulties in both this world and the Hereafter. Whosoever conceals the faults of a Muslim, Allah will conceal his faults in this world and the Hereafter. Allah will aid a servant (of His) so long as the servant aids his brother.” (Muslim)

Hajj is supposed to remind us of the needs of the Muslim ummah either financial or spiritual; to discuss these matters and return home with the intention to fulfill these needs. During the early days of Islam, scholars used to have a designated meeting place during Hajj where they would regularly meet to discuss the affairs of the ummah and pool their resources to come to common understanding and goals.

This leads us to the next purpose of Hajj which is inculcating and adhering to good behavior and manners. It is not the amount of prayers that we do but rather our behavior, our humility and our willingness to be of assistance to others that elevates our ranking with Allah SWT.

Allah SWT explains to us in Surah Al-Baqarah:

Hajj is [during] well-known months, so whoever has made Hajj obligatory upon himself therein [by entering the state of ihram], there is [to be for him] no sexual relations and no disobedience and no disputing during Hajj. And whatever good you do - Allah knows it. And take provisions, but indeed, the best provision is fear of Allah. And fear Me, O you of understanding. (2:197)

Conclusion

The real preparation for Hajj is not the knowledge of the rituals...that is secondary. The matter of primary concern is the preparation of the heart so you go in a state that is acceptable to Allah SWT. Most important luggage to take with you on this journey is conscientiousness of Allah, the awareness that Allah is watching you at any given time and is with you whenever you need Him SWT.

Status of the heart matters more than the rituals. Angels descend according to the status of the heart of the slave, not the amount of his deeds. If the status of one’s heart is acceptable to Allah then even if the person makes minor errors in carrying out his rituals, Allah SWT is an All-Merciful and Pardoning Lord. But if the heart is full of shirk (association with Allah) and arrogance, then even if all the rituals are carried out perfectly, the purpose of Hajj will be lost.